Nigeria’s first ever Winter Olympians gear up for games

The trio of Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga will fly Nigeria’s flag for the first time at the Winter Games.

Three Nigerian-American women are making history and their Olympic dreams have come true by being the first ever African bobsled team to qualify for the Olympics. The team will also be the first Nigerian athletes to compete at a Winter Olympics, when they appear at the PyeongChang games, which begin February 9.

Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are the force behind the team, which officially qualified for the games in November last year. “When people see us, they’re like ‘oh you guys are all the same!’ We get along so well, but between the three of us there’s so much versatility,” Omeoga told CNN.

Adigun, the driver and founder of the team, describes herself as the critical, analytical one, whereas Omwumere is more laid back, and Omeoga meets them in the middle. But they all have one thing in common: they are all former track and field stars.

They had successes. Omwmuere competed in the All-African games, and Adigun made it to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she competed in the 100-meter hurdles.